Cuomo’s Prosecutor

“Letitia James — unbought and unbossed,” is how she described herself when running for state attorney general in 2018.

The media punditry criticized that portrayal at the time — her campaign got a big boost from Governor Andrew Cuomo after the abrupt resignation of Eric Schneiderman.

“I challenge that characterization,” James told me at the time. “Governor Cuomo is supporting me, but he’s supporting me because I have a record of getting things done, because I know how government works, and Governor Cuomo is supporting me because of my commitment to justice. And because he wants to be on the right side of history. But at the same time, I’m going to maintain my independence, because the office is independent from the governor’s office. It’s really critically important that you maintain that independence.”

James’s greatest test comes now, as she begins the tasks of prosecuting Cuomo, the state’s most powerful politician in decades, for a series of disparate crimes — from covering up the number of Covid deaths in nursing homes to creating a toxic work environment for his subordinates.